the blessing of the moon
by storm-eyes-osprey
Summary: Keriss has been told that she is impossible; mainly by the social-workers who struggle to find a place to put her. But when she is tracked down and almost killed by a fire-spitting dragon, and plunged into the hectic world of monsters and Demigods, she finds out another reason why she is impossible. She was claimed by Artemis, and now, life has just got interesting.
1. prologue

**Disclaimer: the only thing I own in this story is the characters I made up. The rest belongs to its rightful owner**

**Note: I was planning to leave this story until I had completed my other fanfiction, hollyleaf's second chance, but I became impatient, so I just decided to post it anyway! My main priorities are still on my other stories, so I may not be able to update this as much as I would like.**

**The blessing of the moon**

**Prologue**

She was falling. The ice had splintered even under the weight of her small, light feet, and she was plunged into the soul-numbing cold of the lake. Her eyes were half closed in agony as the murky waters bit and snapped cold jaws around her exposed arms and legs. She was still too young to understand what was happening to her. All she knew was that she was cold, and that she couldn't breathe. The urge to take a breath was fighting a winning battle with the little common sense that was left lingering in her mind, sole survivors from the decimation that the icy waters had inflicted on her young mind.

Suddenly, the intoxicating urge to breathe gave an overpowering surge of strength and dominated her mind, causing her to inhale sharply. A rush of water gushed into her throat, searing her mouth in frozen fire. She began to choke, bubbles spiralling out of her twisted open mouth, carrying away the remainders of the life-giving oxygen that fuelled her will to live.

The darkness that pressed against the edges of her vision began to creep in, and her limbs seemed to lose connection with her rapidly shutting down brain, so that she hardly felt the sensation of a pair of warm, welcoming hands grasping her shoulders. The only thing that she knew was the sensation of her mouse-brown hair clouding around her neck, and the growing darkness that beckoned her closer to death. Then, in a single moment, her head broke the water's surface, and the girl realised that she could breathe again, and she took a single, shuddering breath, and flopped backwards, exhaustion sapping all energy from her limbs, denying her the ability to even shiver.

Hazy voices snaked into her ears, and the young girl heard the makings of a very peculiar conversation. She could not tell who was talking, nor managed make out most of the words, but three things kept cropping up time after time: the words 'Artemis', 'Death' and 'Blessing'. Suddenly, someone laid their hand on the girls arm, and she managed to build up a sufficient reserve of strength to open her eyes. A young girl, only about twelve years of age, was crouching over her. She had curled, brown hair, and silver-grey eyes, and her face seemed youthful, yet seemed to reflect an ancient sense of wisdom, far beyond her age.

The young girl began to sing, a melodious lullaby that had the sweetness of birdsong and the eerie ferocity of a wolves howl. She was both chilled yet comforted by the sound, and felt sleep falling like a blanket upon her. Upon closing her eyes, the girl was startled by images that seemed to run through her dreams. A pack of wolves, a silver arrow striking a target, a small deer faun with silver antlers, and last of all, a glowing full moon, framed by a glittering swath of stars. The moon calmed the girl, and it began to fade, but almost as soon as it had, a voice as soft as silk and as smooth as running mercury echoed into her head.

"I, Artemis, leader of the hunt, place my blessing on this child, and in doing so, grant her the powers she would have if she were my child…"

**A/N: did you like this? If you did, please tell me that you want me to continue, because I will only keep going if my readers like it and want me to continue!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: the only thing I own in this story is the characters I made up. The rest belongs to its rightful owner**

**The blessing of the moon**

**Chapter 1**

Keriss sat on the ledge, the moon an orb of silver, full and bright, casting light upon the forest, edging each leaf in silver. The moon gave Keriss a feeling of satisfaction, bathing her in comforting light, enhancing her vision so that she could view the wonder of the nocturnal world that sprung to life every night, away from prying eyes. A bird called above the tree-tops, and the girl looked towards the sound. A spotted owl sat in a tree, its whooping call meandering throughout the trees, its dark, blackish-brown eyes searching its admirer up and down. Suddenly, a twig cracked somewhere, and the dappled brown bird erupted into the air, heavy melodic wing-beats carrying it off into the deep blue of the night.

Keriss' hands left the slick, wet surface of the rock as she whirled around, hands clenched into fists, an inhalation of breath caught in her throat. A girl of a similar age stood behind her, with curled, black hair and deep brown eyes, that could easily liken to those of the owl perched in the tree a mere few seconds ago. Keriss let out the sharp intake of breath she took in preparation to fight, and rolled her eyes.

"Seriously fern?" she stated, looking disdainfully at her friend, who had startled her.

"You nearly scared the life out of me!"

"Well I'm sorry, but it's your own fault for not keeping an eye behind you, as you are _always_ telling me to do!" Fern climbed up the mossy rock face to join her friend in watch of the moon.

"What are you doing up so late anyway?" queried Keriss, tipping her head, her long brown hair falling in a smooth curtain to the side of her head.

"I could ask you the same thing." Fern replied, mimicking her friend's gesture in a gentle mocking way. Keriss laughed quietly in amusement, and answered Fern's question.

"I couldn't sleep. I never can on a full moon, so I thought I would make the most of being out in the wild."

"I thought so. Always going off into the woods to watch birds, you are." Said fern, settling down beside Keriss

"I prefer plants myself." she continued. Keriss chuckled at Fern's statement.

"Honestly." She sighed, rolling her eyes for a second time.

"You're always going on about plants!" Keriss' silvery eyes sparked with laughter as she nudged fern.

"Do you want to go for a run in the woods?" she grinned, white teeth flashing in the moonlight, eyes glittering with a wild energy. Keriss' limbs burned with adrenaline in the prospect of a moonlit chase through the silver bathed trees.

"Well… I don't know…" Fern hesitated, glancing nervously left to right.

"We could run into-"

"What?" interrupted Keriss, humour in her voice

"Zombies?"

Fern muttered something that Keriss couldn't quite make out, but agreed.

"Ok, let's go." Keriss took this as a signal, and launched herself from the top of the rock. She knew the teachers would kill her in a rather imaginative, torturous way if they found out; this was a school trip after all; but she didn't care. The adrenaline rush of the chase surged through her as she ducked and weaved under branches, never seeming to stumble. She looked back to see how fern was keeping up, and froze in shock.

She wasn't there.

**A/N: Ooh a cliffhanger! ** **Sorry I took so long to update this, I was planning to post this yesterday but I ran out of time, and the internet was down on my computer, so I had to wait! I also apologise that this chapter is so short! I promise I'll try to make the next one longer, but I'm rubbish at writing long chapters so please don't get annoyed at me if I can't! **


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: the only thing I own in this story is the characters I made up. The rest belongs to its rightful owner**

**The blessing of the moon**

**Chapter 2**

"Fern?" Keriss called out nervously, eyes flickering side to side.

"It's not funny. Come out." No reply. Keriss clenched her fists, all confidence flooding slowly away. Watching the woods was one thing, but being stranded in them, alone and beyond the reach of the moon's gentle light: that was a different prospect all together. Suddenly, a twig cracked somewhere behind Keriss' back, and she whirled around, hair whipping fluidly about her. She took a slow, hesitant step backwards, and flinched as leaves crunched noisily beneath her feet. Another twig snapped, closer this time, and Keriss shrank to the ground, eyes wild with terror. Suddenly, a shape scrambled from the bushes in a rush of movement, and Keriss shrieked in shock. The thing hurtled past her, skidded on the grass, and then fell heavily onto its side, legs flailing to the left. Upon closer inspection, the 'thing' revealed itself to be a deer faun, with a light tawny pelt, freckled with white and seemingly laced with moonlight. Pity flowed through Keriss as she saw a ragged burn-mark, torn in the beautiful creature's side. The flesh was blackened and smouldering, and Keriss knew enough about first aid to tell that it was bad.

"Don't worry. It's alright…." She whispered soothingly as she approached the faun, holding out her hands to prove that she held no weapons to harm it. The deer let her approach, and then stayed obediently still as Keriss scooped the fragile creature protectively into her arms. The burn felt strange against Keriss' bare arms, but she grimaced, and then tried desperately to ignore it. It was then that the ground started shaking.

At first, it was only a light tremor, barely able to be registered, but with each shake, the force became increasingly strong, until it became an ordeal to stand. Then, with an almighty roar, a huge, scaly, reptilian head burst through the undergrowth, eyes blazing with fire. Keriss screamed, then turned and ran, stumbling through the undergrowth, the deer faun still clasped tightly to her chest. Brambles ripped at her trouser-legs, slicing through the fabric and tearing viciously at her legs.

_That-That thing! It was a Dragon! _Panic surged through her, and she looked down to where the forest floor was rushing past her feet, wishing, praying that it could be a dream. Another roar shook through the trees, seeming to echo and reverberate through Keriss' body, striking fear into her heart. Suddenly, she was sent sprawling wildly through the undergrowth as her foot got caught under a tree root, and she tripped, the faun flying from her protective grasp and crashing to a halt against the tree. Keriss tried to stand, but her ankle screamed in pain as she attempted to move it, and spots danced luridly before her eyes. Letting out a groan, she flopped to the ground, pain overwhelming her. Then, the dragon came back, bursting fully in to the open, and Keriss could take in its whole, ferocious majesty.

Its body was lined with deep cobalt scaled, reflecting the moonlight; and its wings seemed to blend with the sky; they were such a dark colour. Eyes blazed with an unnatural fire, glowing amber, as bright as searchlights, and its jaws glowed with fire, lined with razor-like, serrated teeth. It was about ten meters long, at least four of those meters made up by a lashing tail, lined with spikes, set to impale her. Despite how scared she was, Keriss was thoroughly overwhelmed by how beautiful the dragon was. The amazement was short-lived, however, as the dragon opened its jaws, and spat a stream of fire at keriss. She rolled away just in time, and stared in horror as the spot she had just lain in disintegrated in a burst of flames. Heat struck her face in waves, and she tried to drag herself away. Fury raced through the dragon's eyes, and it let out another roar, and then conjured another smoking column of fire. Keriss let out a scream as the blast of heat raced over her back, sending a stab of agony racing over her skin. She could smell smoke, and she guessed through the intoxicating mask of agony that the dragon-fire had singed right through her T-shirt. Then, Keriss remembered the deer faun, and she dragged herself over to it, tears of agony flowing down her face. She reached the deer and tucked it under herself, letting out a moan of pain as she flexed her burned back, but she clenched her teeth and curled up, closing her eyes as she heard the cobalt dragon let out a vicious, triumphant roar, before another wave of unbearable heat washed over her, and everything went dark…

**A/N: I'm really sorry for not updating this in absolutely ages! I'll try to update more often from now on! Please review!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: the only thing I own in this story is the characters I made up. The rest belongs to its rightful owner**

**The blessing of the moon**

**Chapter 3**

_Ow._ That was the only thing Keriss could think as she shifted where she was lying. Her ankle screamed in pain, and her back felt like someone had dropped hot embers on it. She gritted her teeth and let out a hissing breath, trying to ease the pain. She opened her eyes, and gasped.

The last thing she remembered was lying unceremoniously under a tree, with dragon-fire blasting against her. Now, she was lying in a cot-like structure in a huge, airy room, filled with rows of beds and shelves adorned with vials of strange concoctions. Weak morning sunlight filtered through lofty, narrow windows, and people bustled about, seeming to overlook her. Keriss' eyes were heavy with sleep, so she raised an arm, and looked in surprise to see that she was wearing her lilac hoodie, which she had left crumpled on the floor in her tent. Suddenly, a delighted squeal came from across the room, and Fern, hair matted from sleep, came running up to her. Keriss winced as she was pulled into a tight hug from her friend.

"Fern! Fern! Stop it! Ow!" I cried, attempting to push her off me. She stepped back, dipping her head.

"Sorry. I'm just glad to see you." She explained. Keriss nodded.

"Where am I, anyway?" she asked, looking around the room, taking in the strange sounds and smells.

"Oh! You're in the infirmary." Keriss gave Fern a prompting look. Her friend could be so hopeless sometimes.

"And where exactly is the infirmary…?" She goaded, gesturing out of the window with a small inclination of the head.

"You're at Camp Half-Blood." Said another voice, and a man in a wheelchair came over. He had a short brown beard and deep brown eyes, and seemed to have the air and authority that one might expect from a school principal.

"Good morning, Chiron." Smiled Fern, dipping her head. A sudden thought struck me.

"Wait. Isn't Chiron that centaur who was Kronos' son?" I asked, thoroughly bemused. A distant look passed through Chiron's eyes, and he fixed me with a stern gaze.

"Fern will tell you everything." He promised, before pivoting on his wheelchair and rolling out of the infirmary.

* * *

"Wait a second. So you're saying that the Greek gods are _real_!" Keriss exclaimed, disbelief in her voice. Fern nodded solemnly.

"And sometimes they have children with mortals; called Demigods, or Half-Bloods." She continued. Keriss shook her head, and looked outside, eyes portraying a pallet of mixed emotions. Fear, awe, disbelief, confusion, betrayal: it was all there. It felt like everything she had ever known had crumbled beneath her feet and plunged her into a void where nothing was certain. The Greek gods were real. Her best friend was a Half-Blood. Either her mum or her dad was a god. The guy in the wheelchair was an immortal centaur. It was all too much.

"I found it hard to take at first too." Admitted fern, shaking her head at the memories. Suddenly, Keriss realised that Fern hadn't said who her immortal parent was. She opened her mouth to ask, but Fern replied before the words had even formed on the tip of her tongue.

"Demeter. Goddess of agriculture and harvest." Keriss snorted.

"That explains your fascination with plants." She laughed, giving Fern a light, playful shove. The brown-eyed girl shoved Keriss back, but she gasped in pain and clutched her arm.

"Oh my Gods! I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Fern, who sprung backwards and grabbed a cup of golden liquid from the small table beside her friend's bed.

"Drink this. You _shouldn't _disintegrate, you haven't had much nectar today…" Fern trailed off before thrusting the cup into Keriss' hand. She looked hesitantly at the nectar. She knew well enough that too much Nectar or Ambrosia (food of the gods) could disintegrate a mere mortal, however she raised the cup to her lips, and exclaimed in surprise.

"It tastes like cookies!" Fern laughed.

"It tastes like whatever you want it to." Keriss took another sip, and felt the strength returning to her limbs.

"Do you think you're ready for a tour?"

* * *

Later that night, after her tour of the camp, Keriss and Fern settled down in the dining pavilion for the evening meal. A huge fire blazed at one end of the pavilion, and, much to Keriss' surprize, it was burning a bright shade of gold, and spitting flames more than twenty feet high. Fern nudged Keriss with her elbow as she saw her staring, mesmerised by the flames.

"It changes colour depending on the mood in the camp." She informed. Suddenly a loud voice rose over the murmur of chatter from the dining tables- one for each cabin.

"Quiet please!" Heads turned to see Chiron, in full stallion form, towering over his audience of demigods.

"We have a new camper amongst us. Her name is Keriss Riese-moore." Keriss ducked her head as people from all the cabins turned to look at her. Suddenly, over the silence, a gasp splintered the air, and Chiron bounded forwards, a look of shock on his face.

"No…" he whispered, loud enough for Keriss to hear.

"That's impossible…."

**A/N: Review please! Also, I am willing to take suggestions for OC demigods, as this story takes place ages after The Percy Jackson books, so I don't have any characters to have in the background! This is the format you should use to submit your characters!**

**Name:**

**Age: **

**Godly parent:**

**Other family:**

**Appearance: **

**Personality:**

**Weapon and skills: **

**Extra (special powers, events in their past):**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: the only thing I own in this story is the characters I made up. The rest belongs to its rightful owner**

**The blessing of the moon**

**Chapter 4**

Keriss looked around wildly, to see all the faces in the pavilion staring at her, pure shock in their eyes. An unearthly silence had settled on the once busy area, and even the campfire had burned down to half its original size, and had ceased crackling altogether. Panic began to flutter in Keriss' chest as she saw where the camp all had their eyes on. She stared upwards, and gasped. A holographic projection-like image was flickering above her head, casting a silver haze around her. The shape formed was a glowing orb of light, suspended above her. A full moon. She turned back to Chiron, whose eyes were grave, but seemed overrun with confusion. He swallowed, then spoke.

"I honestly do not know how this came to be, but, hail Keriss Reise-Moore, Daughter of Artemis." Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and Keriss shrunk back to avoid being blinded by the intensity of the glare. When it faded, there was a twelve year old girl standing next to Chiron, who gasped in surprise and dipped his head respectfully.

"Welcome, Artemis. It is an honour." The girl seemed to have an unnatural authority about her, and Keriss shrank back as she swept the crowd with a steely gaze.

"Where is Keriss?" She demanded, looking about once more. A hand planted on Keriss' back, and she was forced to the front of the pavilion, where Artemis spotted her.

"Up here, child." Keriss found it odd being addressed as 'child' by someone who seemed blatantly younger than her, but she did as the goddess wished, and made the slow, awkward climb up onto the platform.

"Are you really my mother?" asked Keriss as she reached Artemis' side, but the silver-clad goddess merely laughed. Keriss noted how much the laugh sounded like her own, and frowned.

"No, child. I have sworn never to have children, remember?" this confused Keriss even more, and she looked at the ground, narrowing her stormy grey eyes in confusion.

"Do you remember the ice lake?" Those words suddenly plunged Keriss back into her memories as she remembered the freezing cold and the crushing sensation she felt that horrific day. A shudder passed down her spine, and she clenched her fists in fear and tension.

"Y-yes." She replied, unable to keep her voice from shaking.

"You would have died then, but I placed a blessing on you."

"A blessing that gave me Demigod powers." Finished Keriss, the truth dawning on her like a late sunrise. But then, another spark of confusion plunged her into deeper wondering.

"What powers? I don't have any powers." Artemis laughed again, and Keriss flinched at the unsettling likeness of the laugh to her own.

"You haven't noticed?" Keriss shook her head, despising the feeling that she was being mocked. Keriss turned back to Artemis, who suddenly looked deep in thought.

"I wasn't going to tell you this, Keriss, but you are different to the others that I placed the blessing on." Keriss felt worry rise up within her.

_All I want is to fit in…. I don't want to be different!_

"When I place the moon blessing on a mortal, I usually give them one power, selected by the fates at random. But you, you received both of the powers, and another that I've never seen a mortal use before." Keriss was purged with a sudden wave of doubt.

_Why me!? _

"What are the powers?" She asked hesitantly, looking over the crowd, who now seemed eager to find out what new strengths this new Demigod could bring.

"You can speak with animals, heal yourself by moonlight, and use φωτιά αστέρι" The last words should have been foreign to Keriss, but she gave a surprized exclamation to find that she could understand them as if they were being said in English. The words seemed to rearrange themselves in her mind, and she whispered,

"Star fire…" the words seemed to send a murmur of excitement through the crowd, and Artemis looked at her, prompting her.

"Think of summoning the moon to your hand." She advised, and Keriss closed her eyes, concentrating hard. Suddenly, a shriek erupted from in front of her, and she opened her eyes to see her hand, wreathed in flickering, silver fire. Keriss screamed, shaking her hand violently. The fire detached itself, and flung across the pavilion, plunging into the campfire. The flames roared, then burst thirty feet upwards, blindingly white, spitting embers and sparks into the velvet-blue night sky, scattered with stars. The campers looked in shock at the campfire, which had died down, but was still a startling shade of silver. Keriss looked back at Artemis, who merely nodded in farewell, and materialised into thin air. Chiron seemed in shock, but he soon recovered and swished his tail.

"All of you, back to your cabins." Moans of protest rose into the air, but the sea of orange camp-halfblood T-shirt clad people turned to leave.

"Wait!" Called the centaur suddenly, and heads turned to look at him.

"Catelia Winchester? Could you stay here for a bit, I need a word." Keriss watched as a girl with dirty blonde hair swept into a ponytail, and intense green eyes broke away from the rest of the campers, and ran up to the platform.

"That was quite a show you put on there!" She grinned at Keriss, before turning back to Chiron.

"You want me to help her with the you-know-what, don't you?" Catelia whispered in a low voice, and Chiron nodded. All confidence seemed to drain from the Half-Blood's body, and her gaze darted side to side in a frightened manner.

"Very well." She agreed, but Keriss could sense the uncertainty in her voice. Chiron gave a swish of his tail, and the two girls left the now deserted pavilion.

"Catelia Winchester, Hephaestus cabin." She introduced herself, holding out a work-roughened hand. Keriss shook her hand nervously, stating 'Keriss, Artemis cabin' Quietly.

"I'm here to help you with that… Star fire…. Thing that you can do." Confusion clouded Keriss' mind again, and she asked curiously,

"No offence, but how? I thought Hephaestus was the god of blacksmiths?" Catelia chuckled darkly to herself.

"I forgot that you were new here." She explained.

"There haven't been any new faces since Jasmine from the Aphrodite cabin joined a few months ago." Catelia made a disgusted face as she said the word 'Aphrodite', as if it were a bad smell, or something rotting.

"Most people know about my…. Talent." The blonde-haired girl seemed to have trouble searching for the right word. Keriss was still none the wiser as to why Chiron had asked Catelia to help her.

"Look, every so often, a child of Hephaestus comes along who can do this." Catelia held out her hand, and Keriss gasped in shock as wisps of smoke began to trail from the demigod's fingers, and her entire hand burst into flames.

**A/N: Thanks to 8Hollysplash8 for the suggestion of Catelia, but I still need more Demigods! Also, just a note, no children of the big three! I have some characters that come along later, and having them may interfere with the storylines. Sorry!**

**Please review, it means a lot! **


	6. Authors note

**Authors note**

**I'm seriously thinking about discontinuing this story as it has had such little reception so far, so I really think that everyone who is reading it either finds it incredibly boring, or absolutely rubbish, as it has had so little views and reviews, so, unless I don't see more people reading and reviewing, I really don't see a point in continuing this if no one is reading or enjoying it. I had lots of ideas for this story, so I would find it a real shame to have to stop it, however this may have to be the case if I see that hardly anyone is taking it seriously or actually liking what they read.**

**Storm **


	7. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: the only thing I own in this story is the characters I made up. The rest belongs to its rightful owner**

**The blessing of the moon**

**Chapter 5**

**A/N: I'm continuing the story! I'm sorry about the random discontinuing thing, but I just got kind of doubtful that people hated my story, but thanks to all the kind reviews, I'm going to keep on writing!**

Keriss looked around in confusion. Chiron had met her by the door to her cabin that morning, and suggested that she found herself a weapon. The only problem was that she didn't have a clue as to where the weapon store was. She had wandered about aimlessly for at least ten minutes, but to no avail. She had tried looking for any helpful camp-mates who could point her in the right direction, but they all seemed desperate to get to somewhere or to do something. Keriss sighed in exasperation. It was like being the new kid in school and getting lost, but much worse. Suddenly, Keriss spotted a tall girl with blonde hair, leaning casually against the wall of the Athena cabin, a book on the history of art in her hand. Keriss ran over to where the girl was standing.

"Excuse me?" she asked Hesitantly, Trying to catch the girl's attention.

"Wait a second." She replied, not looking up from her book. After about a minute had passed, she snapped it shut and looked quizzically at Keriss, stormy grey eyes thoughtful.

"Can I help you?" she asked, tipping her head at a slight angle, causing her slightly curled hair to fall smoothly to one side of her face.

"Do you think you could show me where the weapons are kept? Chiron asked me to get one."

"Sure!" replied the girl, who tossed her book onto the bench outside of the Athena cabin and walked in beside Keriss.

"Jessica Simmons, child of Athena." She introduced herself. Keriss nodded and replied,

"I don't suppose I need to tell you my name." Jessica laughed as she said this, and stated,

"How could I forget?! You nearly took my head off with that star fire trick of yours!" Keriss looked at the ground guiltily, scuffing her feet off the ground as she walked. The two walked in silence until they reached a small, rickety wooden hut. Jessica pulled open the door, and Keriss gasped.

Every single piece of available space in the shed seemed to be adorned in the glinting metal shapes of swords, daggers, knives and many other strange weapons that Keriss couldn't find a name for.

"So, What sort of weapon were you thinking of?" queried Jessica, surveying the collection of blades with a swift glance. Keriss shrugged, still lost for words. She ran a tentative finger along the glittering edge of a sword.

"What are these made of?" she asked, noticing the unusual way they seemed to glint in the narrow shafts of sunlight.

"Celestial bronze. Deadly to monsters, but passes straight through humans." Suddenly, Keriss spotted the delicate arching shape of a bow, tucked away at the back of the shed. She cautiously picked her way around discarded swords and broken blades, and took the bow in her hands. It was made of a dark-coloured wood, and seemed almost weightless, and Keriss marvelled that, as she drew back the string, how natural the bow felt in her hands. It flexed in a perfect curve, graceful and elegant.

"good choice. Apergós is a good bow." Commented Jessica, nodding in approval.

"Apergós means 'striker', doesn't it?" Questioned Keriss, yet again, the Greek letters forming themselves into English in her mind.

"You'll need some arrows with that." Commented Jessica, reaching out towards a dusty quiver, stocked with celestial bronze tipped arrows, fletched with what appeared to be eagle feathers.

"Here. This will do for the moment." She said, passing the arrows over to Keriss, who brushed her fingers along the elegant, slender shafts of the arrows, and grinned.

"They're perfect."

"How about we go and try them out?" asked Jessica, gesturing back towards the door of the shed. Keriss nodded, slung the quiver over her back and picked her way over the dangerously littered floor. Once they were at the shooting range, Jessica took a bow of her own from the stand by the target ranges, and pulled an arrow into place.

"I quite like a bit of archery myself." She commented, before getting into position and letting the arrow fly. It streaked forwards in a confident arc and struck the target, only a short way from the middle of it. Keriss copied Jessica, slotting one of her own arrows onto the string. It shot forwards at an astonishing rate, and slammed directly into the middle of the target. A look of pure surprise passed through Jessica's eyes, and she looked in shock at Keriss.

"Have you ever done archery before?" she asked, astonished. Keriss suddenly felt awkward and shuffled her feet in embarrassment.

"No, I haven't." Jessica looked even more surprised, and then, her eyes lit up, as if she had just had an idea.

"It's capture the flag tonight, and I want you on my team."

**Review please!**


End file.
